Destinations

Features

Hotels

Tours

Cruise holidays: the best destinations for 2015

Japan rising Comprising 6,850 islands, it was only a matter of time before Japan found its way onto the cruising map. Exploring the country by ship not only offers good value for money, it is a great way to see lesser-visited destinations. According to Princess Cruises (princess.com
), one in 10 enquiries is currently about Japan. Combining ancient culture with cosmopolitan cities Japan caters to history lovers as well as urban explorers. Some itineraries, including one offered by Royal Caribbean (royalcaribbean.co.uk
) visiting Okinawa, Fukuoka and Jeju also bring the opportunity to visit the southern Ryukyu islands
, a tropical island archipelago in the South Pacific (from £714 per person excluding flights and departing in July). Princess Cruises became the first line to develop a ship with a distinct Japanese flavour to appeal to the local market - but the 11-year-old Diamond Princess, after its makeover, is proving even more popular with Western passengers. Now with the two ships - Diamond Princess and Sun Princess - operating itineraries in Japan, the line offers 14-night tours around the island, calling at some lesser-known wonders such as Maizuru, a small but important port city devoted to keeping Japanese naval traditions alive and Kanazawa, a quiet town known for its meticulous artisans (from £1,707 per person, excluding flights and departing on July 17 from Yokohama). New ports of call for Oceania Cruises in winter 2015/16 include Shimizu, near the Miho Seacoast, known for its black pine trees. Kyoto, Hiroshima and Okinawa are visited on the line's 17-day Hong Kong to Beijing itinerary (departs February 21, 2015 from £2,749 per person). Regent Seven Seas Cruises has a 16-night voyage from Tokyo to Hong Kong on March 11 that visits Nagoya, Kobe, Hiroshima and Okinawa.